UEFA says it will investigate after the Champions League game between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was interrupted on Tuesday night when players walked off the field after alleging a fourth official used a racial slur against Istanbul’s assistant coach.
Key points:
- The match was halted in the 15th minute of the game at the Parc des Princes in Paris
- Istanbul Basaksehir walked off the field, followed by Paris St Germain
- UEFA said the match would restart with a different fourth official
Istanbul players alleged that fourth official Sebastian Coltescu used a racist term towards assistant coach, Pierra Webo, before he was sent off by referee Ovidiu Hategan at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
“Following an alleged incident involving the fourth official, the match was temporarily suspended,” UEFA said in a statement.
“After consultation with both teams, it was agreed that the match would restart with a different fourth official.
“Uefa will thoroughly investigate the matter and further communication will be made in due course.”
Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba demanded that the fourth official — Sebastian Coltescu of Romania — explain himself, while PSG players Neymar and Kylian Mbappe also demanded an explanation.
Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk said “you are racist” to Coltescu before both teams left the field.
PSG appeared in the tunnel ready to resume after UEFA agreed to change the fourth official, but the Istanbul players still refused to take to the field while the official was involved in the game.
Coltescu had been swapped with the VAR official, but Istanbul said they did not want him involved in the game at all.
After the players left the field, the club’s official twitter account tweeted “NO TO RACISM”.
Loading
The score was 0-0 when the incident took place about 15 minutes into the match.
More to come.
AP/ABC
